El di meola. Al Di Meola. Rock encyclopedia. Al Di Meola: quotes

EL DI MEOLA (USA)
OPUS TOUR 2018 (OPUS TOUR 2018)
NEW DISC RELEASE AND MUCH MORE

New compositions by Di Meola, as well as compositions by Piazzolla, Lennon-Macartney

On May 20, 2018, the Moscow House of Music will host the long-awaited concert of the brilliant, virtuoso multi-instrumentalist, composer and arranger, one of the most influential guitarists in the world and living legend Al Di Meola as part of his new world tour “OPUS”. The release of the album of the same name is scheduled for February 23.

“For my new studio album OPUS, I would like to continue my skills as a composer, because I think the evolution of this part of my persona should mark me more as a guitarist-composer than a guitarist-composer,” says Di Meola, “ at the same time, this album also marks a new era in my life. For the first time in my life, I wrote music while being happy. I have a great relationship with my wife, I have a wonderful daughter and a beautiful family that inspires me every day. I believe that comes through in my music."

Amazing skill combined with provocative lyrical melodies, sophisticated sound, and a relaxed mixture of fusion, Latin and gypsy jazz, jazz rock, flamenco and Arabic music is the calling card of this American guitar virtuoso. In 2009, Al Di Meola was included in Classic Rock magazine's list of the greatest guitarists of all time. He has won prestigious awards from Record World Magazine and Guitar Player Magazine, Tomasa Edison and the German Echo, and has been recognized as the best guitarist and best jazz guitarist in the world 14 times. More than 20 of his discs have sold gold copies all over the world. Al Di Meola's albums have won Guitar Album of the Year seven times, and he has won Best Album awards three times as part of the guitar trio of Al Di Meola, Paco de Lucia and John McLaughlin.

Despite a career filled with breathtaking musical moments and incredible body of work that has spanned over four decades, Al Di Meola continues to challenge himself to push his music to new boundaries, but with a more relaxed outlook. Over the past few years, he has actually literally started over, reinventing himself both personally and creatively. A unique concert, where the true master will open up for you from a new, absolutely stunning side, only on May 20 in Moscow!

VIP tickets are now on saleMeet&Greet, which includes a ticket to the concert itself, the opportunity to take a photo with the musician, get an autograph and ask Al Di Meola a few questions in person. The number of tickets is strictly limited!

early years

Al Di Meola was born on July 22, 1954 in the western suburbs of Jersey City, New Jersey, a state famous for its many musicians born there - from rock singer Bruce Springsteen and saxophonist Wayne Shorter to pop-jazz star John Pizzarelli, although Al's parents came from Italy, from the Naples area.

I became interested in music since childhood, thanks to the records of The Ventures, the Beatles and Elvis Presley. Little Al's first instrument was drums. (According to Di Meola himself, it is from this early period that his technique of muting the strings dates back: “I like to play clearly, like when I played drums as a child. I really like a clear sound.”)

He takes part in school amateur performances and by the age of eight, having decided that drums are not his thing, he picks up a guitar. In a couple of years, he learned to play very decently, but he was not accepted into the local music scene: “In the 60s you had to play like, or. Otherwise, no one would work with you. This is what happened to me too. They didn’t want to take me into any group, they said that I didn’t fit the standard, style, and all that.”

But Al's first teacher, Bob Aslanian (Armenian by nationality), was an excellent jazz musician. He introduced him to the basics of jazz, bossa nova and a little classical. Al Di Meola was greatly influenced by fruitful experiments at the intersection of rock and jazz, music that would later be called “fusion.” Unexpectedly for himself, he discovers a guitarist, whom he will later call “the father of fusion style.” “From New Jersey I took the bus to Greenwich Village, where Larry played in small clubs. - El says. “I haven’t missed a single performance!”

In high school, Di Meola continues to study 8-10 hours a day and, as a result, achieves excellent technique. New ideas appear, the desire to find practical application for them grows: “I was trying to find myself, or find a style of music that would suit my playing style,” Al Di Meola said in an interview with Down Beat magazine, “I grew up on rock music and loved her, but rock is too limited for the development of an artist. Then I started listening to bluegrass, especially Doc Watson, and that really helped me get up to speed. I seriously looked into (Tal Farlow) and (Kenny Burrell), but I already knew it wasn't what I wanted to do ultimately. I wanted to do something new, something that no one had done before.”

In 1971, Al successfully passed exams at the Berklee School of Music in Boston and entered the “instrumental performance” class, and 6 months later – also into the arrangement class. In the second semester, he began to play with all his might in a fusion quartet led by keyboardist Barry Miles. The group successfully tours and receives enthusiastic responses from the press and public. One day during rehearsal, Mike Buyukas made a recording that Chick Corea soon heard.

Chick Corea & Return To Forever

In early 1974, a fateful call came from Chick Corea. “I was just sitting in my apartment in Boston when Chick called on Friday afternoon and asked me to come to New York for an audition. says Di Meola. – I couldn’t believe my ears! Just some kind of fairy tale! In ten minutes I collected some things, gave the owner the keys and rushed to New York, never to see that apartment again.”

After rehearsing over the weekend with Chick's "Return To Forever" band, Al made his Carnegie Hall debut, and the next night performed in front of forty thousand people in Atlanta. Experts were not very pleased with the performance of the young Di Meola, reproaching him for pouring an avalanche of notes on the listener to the detriment of the expressiveness of the performance, but he quickly overcomes these shortcomings. He was 19 years old and his star was quickly rising. According to Al himself, he considers the most important period of his career to be the period of working with Chick Corea. In Return To Forever he was simply forced to play better and better - this was required by the level of the musicians around him. Together they formed the highest standard of jazz-rock.

After three successful albums “Where Have I Known You Before”, Grammy-winning “No Mystery” and “Romantic Warrior” in 1976, RTF announced the breakup and thereby launched Al’s solo career. He would later call this a “blessing in disguise.” “I didn’t make a tragedy out of it. It was probably better this way - each of us got a chance to make our own careers and learn what it means to be a leader and producer ourselves.”
Solo career

Land Of The Midnight Sun

Al made his debut in 1976 with the album “Land Of The Midnight Sun”. This work, according to critics, “demonstrates the mature handwriting of the master and is a typical example of a frantic and impetuous style.” The recording featured drummers Lenny White and Steve Gadd, percussionist Mingo Lewis, keyboard wizards Jan Hammer and Barry Miles, and bassists Anthony Jackson and Jaco Pastorius.

“After recording two albums with Return To Forever, I decided to record my first solo album. This happened after two other members of the group - Stanley Clarke and Lenny White - each recorded their own album. I produced Land Of The Midnight Sun myself and wrote some of the music. Also included on the album is one piece by Chick Corea, one by Mingo Lewis and some by J. S. Bach. I didn't yet know what I was getting into and I did it because I had never undertaken such a project alone before. But after finishing the album, I saw my own style emerging and it gave me confidence. In addition, I realized the direction in which my music could develop.”

With the release of each of his subsequent albums, Al Di Meola introduces the listener to uncharted musical territories.

Elegant Gypsy

“A few months after recording Romantic Warrior, Return To Forever broke up. I went to London to work with Go. At the same time, I took a short break and wrote music for a new album. I wanted to spend more time with this album. Plus we had the “right” team for the job. The album also marked the debut of Paco de Lucia for the fusion audience.

I felt like I did something special with this album! It was my best selling album, almost gold. He was well received: he was praised both in the press and by fellow musicians. I remember well when Carlos Santana personally called to congratulate me.

I called the album Elegant Gypsy because of my love for the gypsy and folk music of Spain and the Mediterranean. In addition, it seemed to me that the electric guitar was treated only as a rock instrument - with the sound of a circular saw. I wanted the electric guitar to be considered beautiful, elegant! instrument."

“The Casino album was more or less a continuation of the Elegant Gypsy album. While working on the album, I went to Brazil and wrote a lot of music. I write better when I go to places that inspire me.”

Splendido Hotel

“On this album I wanted to do something new, try new recordings for me - with vocals, with Les Paul. I wanted to do something that could reach a wider audience. I even included the old standard “Spanish Eyes” on the album. And I also recorded a mini-concert by Chick Corea “Isfahan” for guitar and choir.

I knew that it would be very risky to record 3-5 tracks of music that was not typical for me on a record, so I decided to make a “double album” to distribute this music among the tracks that are typical for me.

Once, while touring with Return To Forever in Italy, in the city of Portifino, we stayed at the Hotel Splendido. I did not forget this name and even then I thought that this was a good name for my future album. It always seemed to me that good hotels are wonderful romantic places. They inspire me to write music, and there are such mysterious surroundings, so much going on. People meet each other. So I decided to call the album Splendido Hotel.”

Electric Rendezvous

“The Splendido Hotel album was the most difficult for me for many reasons. But with Electric Rendezvous I decided to do something different - I took the musicians with whom I worked before Splendido Hotel. And on top of that, for the first time since Land Of The Midnight Sun, I did something simple. We sat down in the studio and recorded the album in just two weeks with a few overdubs. It was a very pleasant feeling. I also thought the album sounded better than anything that had been done up to that point. The name came from the desire to provide the listener with a meeting, a “rendezvous” with the music, with some “electric” feeling.”

After the album's release in January, the band tours the United States (from San Francisco to New York). The New York concert at the Savoy was recorded for future television broadcast. The concert in Philadelphia was released on the album TOUR DE FORCE LIVE.

In 1985, the album Cielo e Terra was released with percussionist Airto Moreira, which received high awards.
Trio

John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola, Paco de Lucia

For three years from 1980, Al Di Meola performed and recorded with the great flamenco reformer Paco de Lucia as part of the acoustic guitar supergroup known as The Trio. After two weeks of rehearsals, the first concert took place in Germany and a tour of Europe until the end of November: Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, France, Italy, Austria, Yugoslavia, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, England and Spain. Next is a tour of the USA: Carnegie Hall and across the country to the Santa Monica Civic and on December 5 and 6 in Warfield (San Francisco). Four tracks from the last performance were released on the album Friday Night in San Francisco, which was a fantastic success, selling two million copies.

In 1983, the Trio recorded the CD Passion Grace and Fire and disbanded, only to reunite in 1996 to record the album The Guitar Trio.

World Sinfonia

In 1990 Al Di Meola created the World Sinfonia project. Initially, this project focused on contemporary Argentine music, primarily the music of the creator of modern tango, Astor Piazzolla. “The group fully corresponds to my musical concept. – The guitarist says. – The team includes representatives from different countries – Argentina, Cuba and Israel. And at concerts we perform not only my works, but also works by Astor Piazzolla. And they organically complement each other.”

Tango music occupies a very important place in Di Meola's work. He had close friendly relations with Piazzolla. “The music of Astor Piazzolla occupies my entire soul, because it is fascinating, and every time I discover something new in it. Astor and I were great friends, and he is, you could say, my musical godfather. The roots of tango are from Italy, from Naples, where Piazzolla’s ancestors lived. And tango seems to repeat all the canons of opera music in a compressed form.”

On the albums World Sinfonia (1990), Heart Of The Immigrants (1992), Di Meola Plays Piazzolla (1996), which featured bandoneonist Dino Saluzzi and guitarist Chris Carrington, Al Di Meola is especially interesting in acoustic sound. It is worth noting that “World Synfonia” began as a purely acoustic project. Somewhat later, the instruments included synthesizers and a number of special guitar processors. The project began to become “electrified.” The live guitar sound periodically gives way to the sound of guitar synthesizers with unconventional timbres; typical guitar passages with braces and glissando, but with the sound of a bandoneon, sound interesting.
Joint projects

At the beginning of 1995, Al assembled a new touring trio, The Rite Of Strings, inviting Stanley Clarke, with whom he worked at the very beginning of his career in RTF, and jazz violinist Jean Luc Ponty.

In 2000, the album Nylon & Steel was released, featuring Manuel Barrueco and Andy Summers. Manuel Barrueco in the annotation to the disc says: “When I collaborate with musicians of this level, I always have a lot of new ideas and inspiration to bring them to life. Playing with these masters, I discover a new world of music and sound. The four of us play completely different music, but we still play guitars - acoustic or electric, strings - nylon or metal."

Answering the question about the most interesting musicians with whom he had the opportunity to work, Al Di Meola spoke with the highest praise of the Ukrainian bandura player Roman Grinkiv (Winter Nights album). Al was extremely fascinated by his unusual instrument and his musical ideas.

Di Meola does not at all isolate himself in the circle of famous American musicians and is always ready for contacts with a wide variety of musicians - “the main thing is not the level of their playing, but the similarity of interests.” Another example of both the highest skill and original musical thought is the project of the Azerbaijani pianist and singer Aziza Mustafa Zadeh “Dance Of Fire”.

The maestro continues to work with Manhattan/EMI, Tomato, Mesa/Bluemoon, making brilliant recordings for them. And then he left for the independent label Telarc, where he released the album The Infinite Desire (1998), which demonstrates the widest possibilities of MIDI technologies. The Infinite Desire has sold over one hundred thousand copies and topped the Billboard jazz chart for over three months.

Next year, the next brilliantly played disc mentioned above, Winter Nights, is released, which contains a very unusual number - a duet with bandura player Roman Grinkiv. The disc contains both original plays and adaptations of well-known standards, plus cover versions of modern classics, such as “Mercy Street” by Peter Gabriel and “Scarborough Fair” by Paul Simon.

October 2000 was significant with the release of The Grande Passion, which amazes with the melodic and rhythmic discoveries of the author. The maestro is accompanied by the acoustic band World Sinfonia. Some critics are inclined to consider this album the peak of Al Di Meola's work. The fourth disc released on Telarc is Flesh on Flesh (2002). On this record, Al Di Meola goes headlong into “electricity.”

Conclusion

They say that in Di Meola it’s like two guitarists coexist at the same time: one is an incredibly technical and inventive fusion performer on the electric guitar, the other is a thoughtful researcher of the musical cultures of other countries (primarily flamenco and modern tango), a virtuoso of the acoustic guitar.

Having released more than 20 solo albums, and at different times worked with the most versatile musicians, the Maestro never ceases to amaze with the depth of his talent and creative longevity.

Audio and video (for reference purposes)

Al Di Meola photography

Genre: Jazz

Style: Jazz-Rock, Fusion (Jazz-Rock, Fusion, World Fusion)

Instruments: Acoustic guitar, electric guitar

Record labels: Columbia (7), One Way (5), Tomato (2), Telarc (2), Sony (2)

Al Di Meola has enjoyed a dual career as a vibrant, fiery electric fusion guitarist and a peerless acoustic guitarist with a passion for exploring the music of world cultural traditions. His sparkling, filigree guitar passages in Chick Corea's fusion group "Return to Forever" became the sonic calling card of electronic jazz of the 70s.

Al DiMeola was born in New Jersey in 1954 and began playing guitar at age eight, taking lessons from local jazz guitarist Bob Aslanian. His adolescent interests ranged from the Italian classical music he heard at home to jazz and flamenco. He attributed the expansion of his aesthetic tastes to the music of various world cultures to Larry Coryell.

Since 1971, Di Meola studied at Berklee College of Music, but soon left his studies to play with Barry Miles, and in 1974, he suddenly appeared on stage, replacing Billy Connors in Chick Corea's "Return to Forever". Thus began their two-year collaboration that made DiMeola famous and resulted in three truly immortal albums: "Where Have I Known You Before", "No Mystery" and "Romantic Warrior".

Best of the day

In fact, he started moving up without any delay, immediately becoming an influential fusion guitarist. He was sometimes criticized for being too keen on technique, without showing emotions and feelings in the game, but he soon overcame this omission and developed successfully over the years. When the group broke up, the guitarist began to pursue his own projects, experimenting with Fairlight Computer and Synclavier.

In 1982-83 He teamed up with John McLaughlin and Paco De Lucia in an acoustic flamenco trio for two albums and several tours. Another trio project was represented by Philippe Saisse (marimba) and Andy Narel (drums). In 1985, the album "Cielo E Terra" was released with percussionist Airto Moreira, which received high awards.

DiMeola toured with The Rite of Strings in 1995 (a trio with Jean Luc Ponty and Stanley Clarke), and has recorded as a leader since 1976 at Columbia, Manhattan and Tomato studios.

Similar musicians: Bill Connors, John McLaughlin, Mike Stern, Jeff Beck Allan Holdsworth, Pete Cosey, Paco de Lucia, Bireli Lagrene Gamalon, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever, Weather Report

Roots and influences: Larry Coryell, Julian Bream, The Beatles, Miles Davis

Followers: The Dixie Dregs, Badi Assad

Performed compositions by: Jan Hammer, Astor Piazzolla, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Paco de Lucia, Philippe Saisse, Mingo Lewis, Roman Hrynkiv, Stanley Clarke, Airto Moreira, Jean-Luc Ponty, Pino Daniele, Arto Tuncboyaci, Bert Kaempfert, Keith Jarrett

Worked with: Chick Corea, Lenny White, Steve Gadd, Stanley Clarke, Anthony Jackson, Dennis MacKay, Mingo Lewis, Jan Hammer, Airto Moreira, Stomu Yamash"ta, Gary Burton, Gayle Moran, Joe Farrell, Barry Miles, Hernan Romero, Don Alias, Gumbi Oritz, Dave Baker Shelly Yakus

Discography (albums)

1976 Elegant Gypsy/Columbia

1976 Land of the Midnight Sun/Columbia

1977 Casino/Columbia

1979 Splendido Hotel/One Way

1980 Friday Night in San Francisco/Columbia

1981 Electric Rendezvous/Columbia

1982 Tour De Force: Live/Columbia

1983 Scenario/Columbia

1985 Cielo E Terra/One Way

1985 Soaring Through a Dream/EMI

1987 Tirami Su/One Way

1988 Kiss My Ax/Tomato

1990 World Sinfonia/Tomato

1990 Plays Piazzolla/Atlantic

1993 Heart of the Immigrants/Mesa

1994 Orange & Blue/Bluemoon

1998 The Infinite Desire/Telarc

1999 Christmas: Winter Nights/Telarc

Discography (compilations)

Acoustic Anthology/One Way

Electric Anthology/One Way

Collection/Castle

Greatest Hits/Tristar

The Best of Al Dimeola/Blue Note

The Essence of Al DiMeola/Sony

This Is Jazz, Vol. 31Sony

Video

1992Al DiMeola/CPPv

Participation in projects of other musicians:

Various Artists Blue Guitar (1941)Guitar (Acoustic), Producer

David Broza David Broza (1995)Guitar

Stanley Clarke/Al Di Meola...Rite of Strings (1995)Producer

Various Artists Compilation of Extraordinary... (1994)Producer

Chick Corea Music Forever and Beyond: The... (1949)Guitar (Acoustic)

Chick Corea & Return to... Compact Jazz: Chick Corea (1972)Guitar

Chick Corea & Return to... Return to the Seventh Galaxy: The...(1972)Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Guitar (Electric)

Chick Corea & Return to... No Mystery (1975)Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar, Guitar (Electric)

Chick Corea & Return to... Romantic Warrior (1976)Guitar

Chick Corea Touchstone (1982)Guitar

Chick Corea & Return to... Best of Return to Forever (1985)Guitar

Chick Corea Compact Jazz: The Seventies (1993)Guitar

Paco de Lucia Paco de Lucia en Vivo Dessde El... (1995)Guitar (Acoustic), Producer

Paco de Lucia Guitar Trio (1996)Guitar, Arranger, Producer

Paco de Lucia Antologia, Vol. 2 (1996)Guitar, Producer

Various Artists Gypsy Soul: New Flamenco (1998)

Stanley Jordan Best of Stanley Jordan (1984)Producer

Stanley Jordan Magic Touch (1985)Cymbals, Producer

John McLaughlin with Al... Passion, Grace and Fire (1982)Guitar, Producer

John McLaughlin with Al...Friday Night in San Francisco (1986)Producer

Famed guitarist Al Di Meola ( Al Di Meola) was born on July 22, 1954 in New Jersey, in a family of immigrants from Naples. In early 1974, Al met Chick Corea and after the first rehearsals with his group Return To Forever had already made his debut at Carnegie Hall, and the next evening he performed in front of an audience of forty thousand in Atlanta.

From 1980, for three years, Al Di Meola played with John McLaughlin And Paco de Lucia as part of a supergroup The Trio. In 1990 Al created the project World Sinfonia. Initially, this project focused on modern Argentine music, primarily the music of the creator of modern tango Astor Piazzolla.

Having released more than 20 solo albums and received various music awards, Di Meola never ceases to amaze with the depth of his talent and creative longevity. From Casablanca to St. Petersburg, from the airport to a concert, from a concert to a short night at the Kempinski Hotel, and only after waking up he hurries to fly to Istanbul, having time to talk with Sounds.

Sounds: Your first music teacher was an Armenian, Bob Aslanian. In 1985, you and he published a book, a guide to playing the guitar. Since then, have you learned any new valuable tips for aspiring guitarists?
Al Di Meola: Yes, sure. Mainly, to learn how to play the guitar well, you need to listen to your favorite performers, the best guitarists and try to copy them. My first music lessons, by the way, happened with the accordion. I then took only two lessons and abandoned it. At that time, the accordion was unbearably boring.

Sounds: Your parents are Italians. Do you consider yourself Italian?
Al Di Meola: Yes. Not everyone knows that flamenco originated in Rome. The poor Romans used it to express their feelings. But I don’t only play flamenco - my music is rather a mixture of different styles, for example, I am very inspired by Brazilian salsa, and many other types of Latin American music. But there are many other areas, completely unrelated to each other, that inspire me. As for flamenco, I borrowed from them some aspects with which they express sensuality.

Sounds: How did you come to the choice, how did you decide: “This is what I want to do in life”?
Al Di Meola: My sister is seven years older than me. And then one day, when our parents were not at home, she threw a party. A couple of guys came with guitars - that was the first time I had a chance to touch a guitar, feel it - I was seven years old - that day I realized that I wanted to learn to play the guitar.

Sounds: Tell us about your dream concert.
Al Di Meola: To be honest, I didn't think about it. Perhaps I have already played at the most unimaginable concerts.
Sounds: And which one was the best?
Al Di Meola: Perhaps in Central Park in New York, in front of an audience of 20-30 thousand people. The festival in Morocco, in Rabat, was also very nice. I can go on and on - I've played all over the world, and many of the concerts have been truly wonderful.

Sounds: All over the world, but at least this time you leave before you arrive. Do you have time to visit the sights?
Al Di Meola: It’s not that I’m an ordinary tourist, but believe me, I see a lot. Now I see a lot of snow. This is typical for St. Petersburg, isn’t it?

Sounds: Tell us what it's like to be the best in the world at something?
Al Di Meola: I guess I don't take it as a compliment anymore. There are many good musicians in the world. Many of them are better than me in some aspects. I was lucky enough to become famous by playing the guitar. This happened after a lot of effort and hard work. But now I occupy a unique place in the world of music, and I really like it in this place. It was worth the effort on which I spent years of my life. And I can be proud of that.

Sounds: Do you still have dreams?
Al Di Meola: Yesterday I had a dream (pun – in English the word dreams means both “dreams” and “dreams”). But seriously, probably not. I don't want to surpass there The Beatles, I just continue to do what I love and want to implement the projects that I have in my head.

Sounds: About The Beatles, this time you played them in your interpretation - why didn’t we hear the song "Back in the USSR"?
Al Di Meola: I don't remember this song very well, to be honest. But it’s not so easy to play acoustically; the song is more suitable for an electric guitar.

Sounds: What kind of music do you listen to?
Al Di Meola: I'm listening to Piazzola, the Beatles. Of the modern ones, I really like Ralph Towner.

Sounds: Do you have a hobby, since music has become your life?
Al Di Meola: I didn't even think about it. Often, when I play the guitar, I watch TV - is this a hobby?
Sounds: Yes, it looks like it! What do you like to watch?
Al Di Meola: I love everything Downey Jr. does.
Sounds: Would you like to write music for films?
Al Di Meola: Yes, but it's not so easy today. Cinema is like a closed club, you need to be a part of it. It requires a lot of effort and that's why I'm not in a rush. But when it happens, I will be very happy.

Sounds: What do you love most in life?
Al Di Meola: Music as a means of self-expression is much better for me than words. Good food (my favorite cuisine is Italian). Wine, I prefer Rosé or Sauvignon blanc.

Sounds: Tell me this thing. Based on your experience, do people in the United States still think that Russia is some kind of Mordor?
Al Di Meola: It's probably true...
Sounds: But thank you for coming at this difficult time.
Al Di Meola: And I will definitely return.

This artist has repeatedly won the reader's vote of Guitar Player magazine, earned a bunch of different awards and has become an example for many jazz and rock guitarists. Al Di Meola was born in New Jersey on July 22, 1954. Oddly enough, his first instrument was the drum, and only at the age of eight the boy took up the guitar, which he never parted with. Al's first impression was made... Read all

This artist has repeatedly won the reader's vote of Guitar Player magazine, earned a bunch of different awards and has become an example for many jazz and rock guitarists. Al Di Meola was born in New Jersey on July 22, 1954. Oddly enough, his first instrument was the drum, and only at the age of eight the boy took up the guitar, which he never parted with. Al’s first impression was made by the Beatles and Ventures, but in parallel with guitar lessons (where he mastered classical, jazz and bossa nova), he attended salsa clubs. Later, Di Meola became interested in the work of Larry Coryell and, under his influence, entered Boston's Berklee College of Music.

During his years of study, Al managed to play in Barry Miles' fusion band, and his student rehearsal marathons are still legendary. In 1974, Di Meola’s fate changed dramatically with a call from Chick Corea, who invited the young guitarist to his fusion project “Return To Forever”. Al immediately packed his things and flew to Chick in New York, and soon his debut took place at Carnegie Hall.

With RTF, Di Meola recorded three successful albums, and the level of his playing increased noticeably. When Return To Forever broke up in 1976, Al was ready to launch a solo career. He prepared his first opus with the participation of Jan Hammer, Barry Miles (both keyboards), Jaco Pastorius, Anthony Jackson (both bass), Lenny White, Mingo Lewis and Steve Gadd (drums). In addition to Di Meola's own material, the album includes songs by Chick Corea, Johann Sebastian Bach and Mingo Lewis. After the release of Land Of The Midnight Sun, the guitarist worked for some time with Klaus Schulze, Steve Winwood and other musicians in the jazz-rock project Go, but returned in 1977 with his second solo album, Elegant Gypsy.

Starting with this album, Di Meola encapsulated elements of Latin music into the fusion genre. In 1980, Al teamed up with two other prominent guitarists, John McLaughlin and Park De Lucia. The world tour of this super trio went off with a bang, and the disc “Friday Night in San Francisco” released as a result of the tour sold over two million copies.

In 1983, the group released a second album, Passion, Grace and Fire, and disbanded, only to reconvene in 1996 to record a third album. In the early 90s, Di Meola began increasingly turning to the genres of “world music” and “modern Latin”. To implement new ideas, the guitarist created the international project “Al Di Meola World Sinfonia 2000”, which included Argentine, Cuban and Israeli musicians. The albums “World Sinfonia” and “Heart Of The Immigrants”, recorded with this group, were made under the influence of the master of modern Argentine tango Astor Piazzolla. Di Meola subsequently released an entire CD of his music, Al Di Meola Plays Piazzolla.

In 1995, Al formed another trio, The Rite of Strings, with former Return To Forever partner bassist Stanley Clarke and jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty. The musician celebrated the end of the 90s with the acoustic album “Winter Nights”, recorded by him in company with the Ukrainian bandura player Roman Grinkov. In addition to winter and Christmas themes, this disc includes reworkings of “Mercy Street” by Peter Gabriel and “Scarborough Fair” by Paul Simon.